


A Day In Republic City

by anakinT



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/F, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-31
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-30 07:42:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6414901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anakinT/pseuds/anakinT
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spend a day with Korra, Asami and their family & friends in Republic City and witness, laugh at or frown upon what each of them encounters in their own story. Naga has its own story, too! The stories are based on the canon ending of season 4 of The Legend of Korra and take place several years thereafter. No AU, all official (except for the future developments of course, duh).</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Day In Republic City

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in JAN-FEB 2015, following the airing of the last episode of The Legend of Korra. I finally decided to publish it now, because ... well, why not? Better than let it rot on my hard drive. Hope you enjoy reading it. Please bear with me, since my first language is not English, which - as I am certain - you will undoubtedly notice.

~ ~ * ~ ~

Asami

 

            Asami lay in bed on the side, staring at the alarm clock on her nightstand. She watched the seconds tick by and just hated being awake before the alarm. As so often, when she had important meetings and a tight schedule the next day, she did not sleep well and could not quite take her mind off work.

            Beside her, Korra slumbered peacefully. In moments like this, she envied Korra for her peace of mind. And for her ability to sleep undisturbed by whatever happened around her. The kids having a pillow fight in their room across the hall and not even the chandelier smashing on the marble floor in the lounge downstairs, which even the neighbour’s watchmonkeys had heard, could wake her up. The next morning Korra just had shrugged and said, if something dangerous would happen her Avatar senses would surely wake her up anyway.

            Asami closed her eyes and managed to fall into a slight slumber again. Finally the alarm went off and she got out of bed, earlier than usual, because she had an important meeting with government officials about infrastructure projects in the newly formed Earth Republic. Asami wanted to land these contracts at all costs, especially against her strongest competitor Cabbage Corp.

            Asami had no appetite and had already finished her meagre breakfast when Korra came in the kitchen, still wearing her pyjamas and rubbing her eyes. Cramming some documents in her briefcase Asami said: “Morning sleepy head. I’ll be already off in a moment. Wish me luck, today I have that important meeting, remember?”

            Korra just stood there caught in a staring contest against the coffee machine. After a couple of moments the coffee machine had won and Korra poured herself a cup. Only after the first sip she managed to mumble: “Morning.” Another sip: “Mmmh? Ah sure, today you gotta butter up those Earth officials, right, right!”

            _How can the world’s most powerful person just be so saggy and grumpy in the morning? If the villains ever find out, they just have to attack before her first coffee._ Asami sighed and grabbed the car keys.

            “I really gotta run, Korra. It might be a long day in the office, so don’t wait for me. And don’t forget your appointment with Dr. Sabuko at eleven!” She kissed Korra on the forehead and hurried to the garage. Korra shouted after her: “Good luck! Not that you need it, you’ll twist those guys around your little finger!”

            On her way to the garage Asami managed to run into Naga, which was quite an accomplishment since a six foot five tall polar bear dog can hardly be overlooked even in the hallway of a comfortably sized mansion. But Asami’s mind was already fixed on the presentation she would give in about half an hour. Naga grunted and licked Asami’s face, sensing her tension. _Spirits, that’s just what I need now!_

            In the car Asami had to readjust her make-up in the rear mirror, since Naga had licked half of it away. Now she was really running late and backed up out of the garage onto the mansion’s driveway with screeching tyres. Asami felt something crack loudly under the wheels and stopped. She looked and saw that she had run over Konraq’s bicycle, which now looked like one of those abstract sculptures that achieved absurd prices in art galleries. _Oh, Monkeyfeathers! I’ll have to suffer for that when I come home! Things can only get better now._

            Asami arrived at Future Industries just in time and tried to keep a cool head. Two hours later when the government officials had left she had lost her cool. The presentation had been a disaster. Asami had forgotten some of the most important slides at home on the kitchen table and had to improvise a good portion of her presentation. It also had not helped to shift the official’s mood in her favour that her secretary had stumbled and spilled hot tea over them.

            Back in her office Asami sunk in her chair and threw the presentation in the waste paper basket. She leaned back and tapped her fingers nervously on her massive dragonwood desk. Her gaze fell on Korra’s and her wedding photo right next to the pictures of their twins Konraq and Hirosha in the far right corner of the desk. Before Asami’s thoughts could wander off to happier places, she was interrupted by her secretary’s voice over the intercom: “The head of Research & Development is here and wants to speak to you about a shipment. He said it would be urgent”

            “All right, send him in”.

            A thin man wearing thick glasses and a white lab coat entered. He had a slightly bent posture and his hair looked like as if he had just stuck a screwdriver into a socket. With his left hand he was fumbling around in his pocket and with his right hand he waved about a sheet of paper. _Boy, we really hired a cliché for this job_.

            “I am sorry to interrupt you, Mrs. Sato, but I am a little confused.” _No kidding? You certainly look so!_

            “I know you are a creative mind and always come up with good ideas for new gadgets, but I really don’t know what I am supposed to do with 20 boxes of fish in my lab.”

            Asami raised her left eyebrow and said dumbfounded: “Fish?”

            “Fish!” As if to add weight to this statement he adjusted his glasses with his left hand. Not knowing what do to with his hand thereafter, he continued to fumble around with it in his pocket.

            For a moment the gear wheels in Asami’s head stopped spinning and she thought she heard a distant cuckoo. “Why would you have …”

            “Because they were obviously ordered by the supply’s department at your request.” the man said, interrupting her.

            He handed Asami the sheet of paper, pointing to a specific section with his finger several times. The paper was a delivery note from a fish wholesaler at the harbour. Apparently, they had delivered ‘20 boxes of _boneless premium small herrings_ as per your order of ….’. Asami looked at the man and then reread the note. She finally put the note down, closed her eyes, clenched her fists and took a deep breath. _By Pathik’s beard, this cannot be for real!_

            Asami opened her eyes and growled through clenched teeth: “This was supposed to be an order for _stainless chromium ball bearings_! For the new mecha tank prototypes!” Stressing each syllable she added: “Ball bearings, not small herrings. You see?”

            “Well, I …”

            “I don’t know what went wrong here and who messed this up, and frankly I don’t care.”

            “I think …”

            “ _I_ think you better get out of my office now! And throw that fish away, before it starts stinking!”

            The man turned on the spot and left, slightly shaking his head and still fumbling around in his left pocket. Asami felt a strong urge to throw something against the wall. She already had the intercom in her hand as the door opened and her secretary entered. Noticing Asami’s anger she said cautiously: “The secretary of a certain Dr. Sabuko called. She just wanted to check, because nobody showed up at the appointment at eleven and she could not reach anyone at home at your house either. You would be welcome to make a new appointment, but Dr. Sabuko would be rather busy at the moment.”

            Asami’s office was on the top floor directly above the main entrance to Future Industries headquarters. A janitor was busy sweeping the stairs leading up to the impressive door through which one would reach the even more impressive atrium. He heard a window above him break and before he cared to look up, pieces of broken glass and something that looked like an office intercom fell around him on the ground. The intercom shattered into pieces. Miraculously, the janitor was hit only by few small pieces of glass, which he slowly and carefully swept of his cap and shoulders. _Must be tough negotiations up there!,_ he thought to himself. Quietly whistling along, he continued sweeping the ground.

            “Oh, bison dung!” Asami screamed and tore her hair. The secretary decided to leave discreetly and let Asami stomp back and forth in her office alone. She closed the door and shook her head. She had never seen Asami that enraged and thought that she better not put anyone through for the time being.

            A couple of minutes passed and Asami came out of her office, looking immaculate as ever. She had regained her composure and said to her secretary: “Cancel all appointments for today, I leave and wish not to be disturbed for the rest of the day. And have someone fix the window, please.” The secretary nodded and when Asami had left she dialled the number of the glazier she had had already looked up in the meantime.

            Asami went to her car which was parked on a reserved spot close to the entrance. The janitor briefly touched the brim of his cap to greet her. She felt small pieces of glass crunch beneath her shoes. For a while she just sat in the car staring out the windshield. Asami finally decided to get into town and take a long walk and maybe also have a nice soothing tea before driving home. She did not want to let off her frustration on Korra and the kids. Even though Korra had messed up on the appointment with Dr. Sabuko.

            Asami parked her car near the docks. From there it was not far to the Grand Boulevard with its luxurious shops and fancy restaurants. Just recently, a Charbucks tea shop had opened and she decided to try it out. Slowly strolling along she noticed an old, shabby poster on an advertising pillar: ‘ _Wu and his Tang Clan live in concert – get your tickets now!_ ’ She smiled and thought that Prince Wu, who in fact was not a prince any more, would certainly be just as unsuccessful with his new band project as he had failed with the Tang Clan.

            Asami tried hard not to think about everything that went wrong today and took the turn from the Harbour Road to the Grand Boulevard as Bolin ran right into her. He had been busy unpacking his hot frog he had just bought from his favourite takeaway and did not pay attention to where he was going. Startled, Bolin reflexively pressed the hot frog together with both his hands, squirting the sauce all over his and Asami’s jackets.

            “Ooohoooh!” Bolin moaned looking at the sorry remains of his snack, half of which had fallen on the ground. “Don’t you pay attention where you are going. This …  – Oh! Hi, Asami!”

            “Sorry, Bolin! I had my mind elsewhere and just didn’t notice you!” Asami apologized, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping the sauce from Bolin’s jacket.

            “It’s okay, don’t worry. I never liked that jacket anyway. And I’ll just get another hot frog, no big deal.”

            Asami had an idea. Bolin was always in a good mood and always had funny stories to tell, making silly faces and absurd gestures in doing so. Having cleaned also her own jacket as good as possible, Asami said genially: “Listen, Bolin. To make up for my viciously destroying your favourite snack, which undoubtedly is the most delicate piece of culinary art in this world and the spirit world, I insist on inviting you to Charbucks, who not only serve excellent tea but also fantastic sushi.”

            “But I wanted to …”

            “Excellent, I knew you’d fancy that! Charbucks is right over there, let’s go!”

            Asami firmly grabbed Bolin’s arm and pulled him along to the tea shop. Bolin was about to protest, looking back at the takeaway he had gotten his hot frog from. But he knew that he had no chance against the CEO and owner of the biggest company in the world, who also was a darned good martial arts fighter, and went along, dumping the rest of his hot frog in a dustbin they passed by.

            Charbucks was cramped with customers. But with a discreet extra tip Asami could convince the waiter to get them a table. She rested her elbows on the table and her chin on her hands. All she had to do now was to get Bolin rolling and he would happily talk for an hour so. She knew that Bolin also talked with his mouth full when eating, but she did not care. Her jacket was stained already anyway.

            “So how’s your pro bending team doing? What are they called again?” Asami knew that Bolin was most enthusiastic about pro bending and his new team.

            “You mean the Fantastic Four? Oh, they are doing great. I mean, I know only three benders are allowed in one team …“ Bolin held up his right hand and stretched his three middle fingers “…  and a lot of people tell me that Fantastic _Four_   …“ Bolin moved his left hand next to his right hand stretching his index finger “… would be a silly name. And yes …“ Bolin threw his hands over his head “…  they get laughed at in the arena every time they are announced. But, I tell you …“ Bolin took down his arms and pointed at Asami with his right index finger “… I’m about this close …“ Bolin spread his thumb and index finger only just apart “… to convince the International Pro Bending Committee to admit also airbenders. And then …” Bolin punched his right fist in his left palm “… Bam! We got four players per team and …” Bolin pointed with both thumbs to himself “… I’ll be the one who’s laughing!”

            The waiter served the tea and put an enormous plate of sushi in front of Bolin, who stopped talking only briefly and then continued with his mouth full. The waiter frowned at Bolin with distaste. When they had ordered, Bolin had asked the waiter if he could have his sushi fried first. Asami quickly interrupted, saying that Bolin always made such funny jokes and grinned appeasingly at the waiter. _Rich guys always get the prettiest girls even when they are complete dorks_ , the waiter thought to himself, not knowing that the woman sitting vis-á-vis the dork was one of the richest persons in Republic City.

            Asami sipped her tea and let her mind wander off. From time to time she slipped in a casual ‘oh’ and ‘do tell’ and Bolin went on and on. Asami relaxed and just enjoyed the moment. After about an hour, Bolin’s good mood had spread to Asami. She no longer cared about all that went wrong earlier that day and was in good humour.

            The waiter was quite surprised that Asami paid the bill, and also gave a major tip, and reckoned that the beautiful woman must be related to the dork, because otherwise she would make a pretty bad deal.

            In front of the tea shop, Bolin thanked Asami for the invitation and said that she could run into him any time again. But next time, although the food had been really excellent – Bolin rubbed his belly with both hands – they could try one of those Fire Nation grill restaurants down at the docks. Asami smiled and kissed Bolin goodbye on the cheek, thanking him for the pleasant company.

            Asami was now looking forward to coming home to Korra and the kids. She thought that maybe she had been working too much lately and spent too little time with her family. Perhaps she should slow down and delegate some of her responsibilities to a co-director. She even tinkered with the idea of stepping down as CEO altogether, but quickly dismissed that thought.

            Asami decided to take a little detour and get a new bicycle for Konraq on her way home. But before that she would get four cupcakes with a lot of cream and a cherry on top just around the corner in a fancy confectionery she knew.

 

~ ~ * ~ ~

Korra

 

            Korra usually slept like a log. Asami at times made fun of her, saying that one could demolish the house with a bulldozer and she still would not wake up. But Korra despised alarm clocks. Not at such, rather their incessant ringing which somehow always managed to pierce through even her deepest dreams.

            Korra was woken by the alarm. She felt as Asami got out of bed and heard her close the bathroom door. Korra turned around and fell into a light sleep again. She woke up again as Asami opened the bathroom door and went into the walk-in closet. For Korra it felt as if Asami had been in the bathroom only for a few seconds. She turned around once more and slowly opened her eyes. A few minutes later, through still half closed eyes, she saw Asami walking out of the closet into the hall looking impeccable as always. _How can anyone be so full of energy and ready for action that early in the morning?_ , Korra thought to herself. _And how, by Kyoshi’s fan, does she manage to look so snazzy after only five seconds in the bathroom?_

            Korra sighed and struggled with herself. Once again, she turned around and pulled the blanket over her head. She heard soft steps coming from the hall into the bedroom, Asami had left the door open. The steps stopped right next to the bed and then she heard a low panting. Korra did not move and the panting changed to a gentle whining. Since this also did not prompt her to any reaction, the whining changed to growling. Before her blanket would get pulled away, Korra decided to give up and sighed: “Alright, Naga. I’ll get up.”

            Korra finally dragged herself out of bed, one limb after the other, and stretched. Naga nudged her impatiently with her snout.

            “All right, all right! For a hibernating animal you have very little respect for other people’s sleep, you know that? What time is it anyway?”

            She looked at the alarm clock on Asami’s night stand and saw that it was only just past seven, which was about half an hour earlier than Korra usually got up. Or at least the alarm clock rang. Korra moaned.

            She did not bother to change or go to the bathroom first and directly went downstairs. Naga rushed by and disappeared in one of the mansion’s many rooms. Korra found Asami in the kitchen, hastily stuffing something in her briefcase. Asami said something to her, but Korra did not grasp its meaning. She managed to pour herself a cup of coffee and took a sip. Then she remembered that Asami had an important meeting today with some Earth Nation twerps about some project Asami had told her about the whole week but which Korra completely failed to remember at the moment.

            Asami kissed her on the forehead and said something about an appointment at eleven. Korra wished her luck and then Asami was off. She finished her coffee and decided to have another one, just in case the first one was not enough to revive her spirits. After her third cup she finally got dressed and fed Naga. It was time to wake up the twins. Korra went upstairs and opened the door to the kid’s room. The kids only had one room together, although the mansion had enough rooms for separate playrooms and bedrooms for each of them. But they did not want to spoil them and had in fact locked most of the rooms, which were unused anyway.

            “Morning, my little benders. Time to get up!”

            Konraq was already awake and jumped out of the bed. Hirosha had inherited Korra’s morning grumpiness and moaned: “I don’t wanna. I just had the best of dreams!”

            Konraq bent some water from his glass on the nightstand and whipped Hirosha on the head with it. “Ouch!“ Hirosha screamed, threw away her blanket and bent a brick out of the wall and towards Konraq in revenge. Korra stopped the brick just in time and shouted: “Stop it! No fighting! How many times have we told you to use bending only outside the house?” _And how many times did I already fix the walls in this room?_ , she added in her thoughts.

            Korra was very proud that both of their kids were benders, and powerful ones, too, even at that early age. But she had not expected raising children to be such an ordeal sometimes. Maybe she had just gotten what she deserved. Her parents had often told her what a rascal she had been as a child. Bending _three_ elements already as a toddler!

            Korra made pancakes with dragonberry syrup for the twins, which was their favourite type of breakfast. Konraq stirred his cocoa by bending the liquid around in the cup.

            “Konraq!” Korra warned him with a stern look.

            Asami and Korra had a strict rule against bending in the house. Not only to teach the kids to use their powers responsibly, but even more so to save the house from destruction. Korra grew up in a simple hut in the Southern Water Tribe which could easily be repaired. And her parents had to mend it quite often in fact. Korra dared not to imagine what damage those kids could do to Asami’s mansion. Of course, the no-bending rule also entailed that Korra did not bend within the house either. Most of the time, Korra complied, but sometimes when the kids – and Asami – were not around she just bent the water out of her hair after taking a shower instead of using the hairdryer, since it was so much quicker.

            “Momma, where’s mommy?” Hirosha asked. They called Korra momma and Asami mommy, which they found quite practical, because this way they always knew whom the twins meant.

            “Mommy had to leave early. She has a lot of work today and might come home late.” Korra answered.

             “Why does Mommy always work so hard and you don’t?” Konraq asked innocently.

            “Well, for one that is not true, young man. As you know, I am the Avatar and have a lot of responsibilities. Also, I have my bending school where I give lessons each afternoon. And most importantly, I have to care about you two, which is quite an effort.” Korra retorted, having taken the question rather personally.

            “Will mommy be home to read to us a good night story?” Hirosha wanted to know.

            “I don’t know, sweetie. But when you’re already asleep when she comes home, she will give you a goodnight kiss, so that you have only nice dreams.”

            They finished breakfast and Korra packed them lunch. “All right, stop playing with Naga. We need to get going!”

            The kindergarten was only two blocks away. Korra always brought them there and picked them up again herself, even though there was a school bus service. The kids always rode on their bicycles and Korra would ride behind them on Naga. She enjoyed the surprised glances she got from passers-by, seeing someone ride on a polar bear dog in the city. But of course most people already knew her and hardly cared about Naga any more. When she picked them up, the kids could ride on Naga and Korra would walk beside them pushing their bikes.

            Hirosha grabbed her bike which she had left leaning against the wall right outside the door. “Where’s _your_ bike, Konraq?” Korra asked.

            “It’s right over there.” Konraq answered and ran towards the garage. He stopped and cried: “Momma, what happened to my bike?”  

            Korra sighed and went over to him. Konraq was standing next to the deformed remains of his bike on the driveway with tears in his eyes. The bike was beyond repair, even for Korra’s metalbending powers. On the gravel Korra could see tyre tracks coming out of the garage to the bike and from there leading out to the road. Korra instantly knew what must have happened. _Oh Spirits, could you not be a little bit more careful, Asami?_

            Korra bent down to Konraq and put her hands on his shoulder. She could not think of any excuse and there was no point in lying anyway. So she told him the truth as softly as she could manage: “I think mommy was really in a hurry this morning. Er, because she had to drive to a meeting with very important people, _government_ people, er, drive with her car of course, and, er, was already late. Aaaand, er, you see, you can’t let important people wait, so mommy drove really fast, _way too fast if you ask me_ , and, er, accidentally ran over your bike. It was an accident, Konraq.”

            But this did not comfort Konraq at all and he stomped with his foot heavy on the ground, shouting: “That’s not fair! Why did mommy ruin my bike because of others? I’m more important than those other people!”

            Korra was glad that Konraq was not an earthbender as his twin sister, because that stomp of his might have left a decent hole in the driveway and shaken the garage quite badly.

            “It was an accident, she did not mean to do it. Mommy would never destroy any of your things on purpose, you know that. Now, be a brave waterbender. You can ride with me on Naga and tomorrow I’ll get you a brand new bike. How’s that sound?”

            Konraq seemed to be fine with that, but for Hirosha it obviously did not sound right: “That’s not fair! I want a new bike, too! And I want to ride on Naga, too!”

            Korra sighed: “Alright, hop on Naga, you can both ride with me.”

            They arrived at the kindergarten in time before the bell. Korra bent down to the twins and reminded them: “Don’t make any trouble, and don’t forget: No bending! Or I’ll energybend you two into gerbilcats, understood?” The kids nodded and Korra looked after them as they walked down the hallway into their classroom.

            Korra rode home on Naga and changed into her training gear. She put on shorts, running shoes and a blue hoody which had ‘Deal with it!’ in bold white letters on the front. It was a gift from Asami and she liked it very much.

            “Come on, Naga! Let’s get some exercise!”

            Naga barked and wagged her tail in excitement, because that was her favourite part of the day. They jogged down to the docks and alongside the promenade to Avatar Korra Park. Running along, Korra thought about what Konraq had said at breakfast. Maybe he had a point and she really took things a little too easy and supported Asami too little. But since the defeat of the last Kuvira supporters and the peaceful transition of the Earth Kingdom into a republic, matters had been rather quiet for the Avatar. A few angry spirits to be calmed down here and charity invitations there, but apart from that everything was under control. The airbenders under Tenzin’s leadership did a great job and police had restored order in Republic City, which was still not yet fully rebuilt.

            She did not want to live off Asami and had therefore opened her own bending school for children about a year ago. Of course, Asami had provided the start-up capital, because as the Avatar Korra never had to work for money and therefore never had any. But the bending school just barely covered its own costs and Korra only taught lessons for three hours per day. Perhaps she should be a little more entrepreneurial as Asami. She did not want the kids to think of her as lazy. But on the other hand, working hard all the time and earning lots of money was not a fulfilling life either. Maybe _Asami_ should reduce her workload and take things easier.

            As always, one needed the right balance. _Well, I’ve heard that before_ , Korra thought to herself and continued with her sit-ups in the park, looking at the massive statue the city had built in her honour.

            After sit-up number 131, Korra suddenly stopped, slapped her forehead with her palm and cursed out loud: “Monkeyfeathers!” Some passers-by looked at her in surprise, but quickly went on minding their own business. Korra had completely forgotten about the appointment with Dr. Sabuko at eleven. Asami would not be happy. But back at home, Korra would just call his secretary and make a new appointment. No big deal. She would break it to Asami gently with her favourite cupcakes, the ones with the cherry on top from the outrageously expensive confectionery Asami liked so much.

            On the way home Korra was angry with Naga, because once again she had to pay for her stealing food from a takeaway when Korra was not looking. But when she opened the gates to the mansion, Korra had already forgiven her. She just could not be mad at Naga when she looked at her pitifully with her big, black eyes.

            Korra took a shower and then made a new appointment with Dr. Sabuko. She apologized to his secretary and used some extremely urgent Avatar business as an excuse for not showing up. She was surprised that his secretary had been so friendly, in enormously good humour really, and had offered her an appointment already next Monday.

            Korra then relaxed a little under the pergola on the huge terrace. She still had plenty of time before she had to leave for her bending school. Lying on a sunbed, she metalbent the remains of Konraq’s bike into different shapes, partly for practice and partly just for fun. _Maybe we could sell this to an art gallery?_ , she smiled to herself.

            After a while, Korra got bored and bent the bike into a compact lump and threw it in the trash. She decided to treat herself to a nice cup of tea in town before her bending school would start. But not in the new Charbucks, which in her opinion was only for snobs. Besides, they would never allow Naga to accompany her into the shop anyway. Rather in one of the tea takeaways in Little Ba Sing Se. They were authentic and straightforward with no fancy stuff.

            Korra was fooling around with Naga as they were strolling along the Grand Boulevard. As they took the turn to Little Ba Sing Se, Korra ran straight into Bolin, who dropped his hot hog, he had just bought.

            “Ooohoooh!” Bolin moaned watching Naga eat the hot hog from the ground.

            “I am so sorry, Bolin. I was just playing with Naga and didn’t pay attention where I was going.”

            “It’s okay, I’m quite getting used to being deprived of my food lately. Funny thing, you know, I just come from …”

            Korra cut him off, grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along. She said: “You know what? I’m glad I bumped into you, I wanted to talk to you anyway. Not exactly to you, I mean, but I need to talk to someone who knows me. Let me get you a new hot whatever and a cup of tea. I know just the right place.”

            Bolin knew that there was no point in trying to resist the Avatar, who obviously had quite something on her agenda, pulling him along with a firm grip. So Bolin submitted to whatever she had on her mind. Korra rushed by the takeaway Bolin had just gotten his hot hog from and headed for a rather shabby tea stand where they served only cold snacks. Korra ordered two dragonflower teas. Bolin did not ask for any snacks, since he already had enough sushi today and saw no change of getting anything fried anyway.

            Korra said: “Can I ask you something? Do you think, I’m a lazy person? I mean, I’m not the CEO of a major company, but I run a bending school and take care of the kids most of the time. And I’m the Avatar. The _Avatar_! I mean, if there is a global crisis or some angry spirits on the loose, who they gonna call? _Me_! And I’m not even getting paid for this! Okay, they built me a statue, but that does not pay the kindergarten fees for the kids. Sure, Asami singlehandedly leads Future Industries and I, as I must admit, can’t even keep the only important appointment I had this week, and I feel a little stupid for that.”

            “I think you …”

            “You know what Konraq said to me this morning? He thinks, Asami is doing all the work and I’m just having a good time! I mean …” and Korra went on to pour her heart out to Bolin who feared that this was going to be a long afternoon.

            Bolin reckoned, there was no point in trying to contribute to the conversation. For one, this was not really a conversation, Korra did all the talking. And he was pretty sure that she did not expect him to say anything anyway. So he sipped on his tea and from time to time he slipped in a casual ‘I see’ and ‘you’re right’ and Korra went on and on.

            “ … so I think that rather Asami should cut down and spend more time with the family rather than me trying to work as hard as Asami. Don’t you agree?” Korra finally finished her tirade.

            Bolin, not really having listened most of the time, was a bit caught off guard that he actually was expected to say something and stammered the most harmless phrase that came to his mind: “Errrr, sure. I think that sounds reasonable.”

            “Thank you, Bolin! You helped me a lot!“

            Looking at the large clock at the top of the Cabbage Corp Tower surmounting Little Ba Sing Se from the new financial district in the east, Korra said: “Oh Spirits! Already that late! Sorry, Bolin, I gotta run. I already missed one appointment today, I can’t be late for my bending classes at school.”

            Korra hugged Bolin and kissed him goodbye on the cheek. Before Bolin could say anything, Korra jumped on Naga and rode off in a hurry, dispersing the crowd in the pedestrian area and earning angry shouts.

            Riding to her bending school, Korra reminded herself to get those fancy cherry-topped pancakes for Asami before picking up the kids from kindergarten. And she decided to talk to Asami about cutting down a little, but not today, maybe on the weekend.

 

~ ~ * ~ ~

Tenzin

 

            Tenzin stepped out of the town hall with an angry face and mumbled to himself: “That’s outrageous! Unbelievable! Introducing a special tax on flying bisons within the city limits! It’s not their fault that they are that big and need to eat a lot!”

            Tenzin stopped at the bottom of the stairs and shouted up to the town hall’s entrance: “And due to the natural order of things, all food that’s eaten must come out again sooner or later! Even tax officials should know that!”

            He turned around again and walked down the road in the direction of the IPBA, the International Pro Bending Association. They had asked him, in his capacity as representative and spiritual leader of the airbenders, for his professional opinion on admitting airbenders to pro bending.

            “A special tax on bison droppings! Unbelievable!” Tenzin still muttered under his breath.

            Although Tenzin was on the City Council, he had no authority to intervene in tax matters, which were independently regulated by the tax authority. But he was determined to do what he could to have that tax rescinded as soon as possible. Otherwise he had to move all the flying bisons from Air Temple Island to someplace outside Republic City in order to avoid the horrendous tax.

            Tenzin crossed the street still sunken in anger, forgetting to look at the oncoming traffic. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he saw a police car dashing down the road coming right at him with flashing blue lights. The driver could evade Tenzin at the very last moment with screeching tyres and nearly hit a parked car. Tenzin made a long airbending backflip and landed softly on the pavement. While in midair he heard someone shouting from the inside of the car: “Out of the way, arrowhead, or you’ll end up …” Tenzin could not hear the rest, because the police car was already too far away and sped around the corner. Somehow he felt he knew that voice, but was not really able to put his finger on who it might have been.

            Coming from the same direction in which the police car had just vanished, Tenzin could see Korra riding on Naga at full gallop, disappearing at the opposite side of the intersection.

            Tenzin shook his head and mumbled while adjusting his robe: “Unbelievable. This is just unbelievable.” He composed himself and made a second attempt of crossing the street. This time he looked left and right beforehand.   Twice.

 

~ ~ * ~ ~

Bolin

 

            Bolin watched Korra jump on Naga’s back, riding off through the crowd. For a moment he only stood there puzzling over what had just happened. _Well, if you ask me, Korra seems a liiiiiittle stressed out. Maybe she should take a nice loooong holiday with Asami and the kids._

            He shrugged and went back to the Grand Boulevard from where Korra had dragged him into Little Ba Sing Se. Bolin walked by the fried food stand from which he had gotten his hot hog earlier, but which about fifteen minutes ago regrettably first ended up on the ground and then in Naga’s stomach. But he was no longer hungry and he definitely had too much tea for today.

            Bolin had not much time left for his appointment at three, but it was only two blocks away, so he was in no hurry. He walked down the Grand Boulevard and took the second turn to the right, as a guy holding a bucket, a large brush and some paper rolls ran right into him.

            “Oooooh! What’s wrong with you people? Can I not go around one single corner today without being run over by someone?” Bolin complained loudly, and looking at his clothes he added angrily: “Oh Spirits! Look at my clothes! They are ruined!”

            The guy that had run into Bolin was a professional billposter. And the bucket he was carrying was full of paste, a considerable amount of which had been spilled on Bolin’s jacket and trousers.

            The billposter said laconically: “He who lets his tea steep too short will never find inner peace!”

            “What? What does that even mean?”

            “Dunno. My grandfather used to say that on occasion.”

            “On what occasion?” Bolin asked crossly while unsuccessfully trying to wipe off the paste from his clothes with his hand.

            The billposter shrugged and walked by Bolin on to his van he had parked just a few meters way. Baffled, Bolin muttered to himself: “Even the weirdos don’t make sense any more. This city is really going downhill.”

            To get rid of the paste on his hand Bolin had to wipe it off on his jacket, which now was stained with a mixture of hot frog sauce and paste. _I look like a dork! If someone else runs into me today, I swear, I gonna drown him in a pool of lava!_

            The place where Bolin was supposed to meet Opal was only two buildings away. The door plate read in big bold letters: ‘Nev R. Pa-Ting’. Thereunder, a little less bold and big stood: ‘Best wedding planner in town.’ _Well, door plates never lie_ , Bolin thought and went in.

            Noticing his dirty clothes, the receptionist eyed Bolin with both, surprise and disgust. Condescendingly she asked: “Can I help you?”

            “Yes, you can my dear missis. I happen to have an appointment here with my future wife Opal in juuuust …“ Bolin looked at the clock on the wall behind the receptionist “… two minutes.” and stretched out the middle and index finger of his right hand while leaning on the receptionist’s desk with his left hand. _Oh dear, that poor bride_ , the receptionist thought and hoped for the bride’s sake that the wedding would never take place. She let Bolin into Mrs. Pa-Ting’s office where Opal was already waiting.

            Opal rose from a comfortable sofa and was about to kiss Bolin hello, as she suddenly backed off and said: “What, in the name of the White Lotus, happened to you?”

            “Well, I was run over three times, was denied two delicious fried snacks, had far too much tea and in the end was pasted over, but that’s a rather loooong story.“

            Opal, already gotten used to Bolin’s weird moments, forced a smile and said: “Sure, how could I not have noticed that.”

            Pa-Ting approached Bolin and said genially: “You must be the husband. I see that you obviously also have been decorated“ and looked down at Bolin’s trousers.

            “What? Oh no, I was not awarded anything yet …“. Only then Bolin noticed the half torn newspaper page stuck on the paste on his left trouser leg. “Oh, that! No, that’s just …“ Bolin cleared his throat nervously “… er, old news, ahem.“

            “Of course.” Pa-Ting remarked coolly. “Very well, please have a seat, and let us begin.”

            Opal and Bolin planned to marry this autumn, but had not yet told anyone. They wanted to drop the bomb at Korra’s and Asami’s garden party they threw each summer. This way they could tell everyone at the same time. Bolin’s best man should be Mako and Opal’s maid of honour should be Jinora. Apart from that, they had only very vague ideas about their wedding yet, but Pa-Ting counselled them properly.

            Eventually Pa-Ting said: “Very good, but there seems to be a little problem regarding the venue. There is only one place in Republic City, at least until the Great Opera is rebuilt, that could host two thousand people in an elegant atmosphere: the Government Palace. And I’m afraid it will be rather sticky …“ Pa-Ting again was distracted by the paste on Bolin’s clothes but quickly recovered “… er, tricky, to arrange that, if at all possible. In any case, it would be very costly.” Pa-Ting looked inquiringly at the couple over the top of her glasses.

            Bolin frowned and said: “You mean two _hundred_ people, right? For a moment I thought you said two thousand.”

            Opal interjected: “But Bolin! I thought we agreed on inviting _all_ our friends and family.”     

            A moment, or two, of uncomfortable silence ensued and refused to pass. Bolin looked startled at Opal, Opal looked reproachfully at Bolin and Pa-Ting alternately looked at both of them questioningly, still over the top of her glasses. Finally, Bolin broke the silence and said: “Weeeell, not technically _agree_ , rather considered it as an option. What’s wrong with Air Temple Island? I’m sure Tenzin will let us have the wedding there and I don’t think we really know that many people, do we?” Bolin suddenly found the collar of his jacket too tight.

            Pa-Ting knew only too well what was going on. In her experience, there were two types of husbands. The rich ones, for which only the best was good enough and who spent a fortune for the wedding. And the other ones, who were dragged here by their future wives and who just wanted the wedding to get over with, not spending too much money and effort on it. Unsurprisingly, the former type was her favourite. For Pa-Ting Bolin was one of the ‘other ones’, but a sub-category of his own.

            For Opal, she still hoped that the marriage would not come about. But, of course, for her bank account she hoped the opposite and finally said: “We can decide on the venue later, but you should not wait too long. Otherwise we might not be able to find a suitable place for your big day in time.”

            Opal and Bolin agreed and decided to discuss this later privately. They both rose from the comfortable sofa and in doing so Bolin tore off a good portion of his left trouser leg. Some of the paste on Bolin’s trousers had got stuck to the sofa, on which now scraps of dark brown cotton were glued. Bolin put together the fingertips of both his hands in a triangle before his body and said innocently, forcing a smile: “Errr, thank you so much Mrs. Pa-Ting, we’ll be in touch!”

            He grabbed Opal and sped out of the office. Pa-Ting rolled her eyes and thought to herself: _By all ancient spirits, don’t let that poor woman marry that dork_.

            Outside, Opal said: “I thought we would invite everybody: all our family, Korra and her family, Mako and his friends at the police force he used to work, your friends from pro bending, of course the airbenders, all high representatives of Zaofu, …”

            “Wait, wait, wait! Hold on for a second! I’m not sure we can afford that. And besides, wouldn’t a wedding with only our dearest friends and family be more intimate? Also, there would not be such a long queue at the buffet and the band wouldn’t have to play so loud, because the place would be smaller, and …”

            “Oh, Bolin. Sometimes you’re really weird, but you’re also very sweet when you are weird. Let’s decide on the invitation list later.“ Opal looked down on Bolin and added: ”And now, we’ll buy you new clothes, you look like a hobo. Right over there is a Spark’s & Lancer, they always have the latest fashion. Let’s go before somebody sees you, _us_ , like this!”

            ”But I look like a _nice_ hobo!” Bolin protested. “And what’s wrong with some ventilation slits in my trousers, it’s rather muggy anyway …”

            Opal sighed: “Classic Bolin!”

            She rolled her eyes and pulled him across the street into the fashion store, letting a police car with flashing blue lights dash by first.

 

~ ~ * ~ ~

Lin Beifong

 

            Lin Beifong sat in the passenger seat of a police car, which was dashing through the streets of Republic City with flashing blue lights. They had received an emergency call from a passer-by who had heard somebody screaming loudly in the city apartment of G.B. Corgan, which was one of the richest bankers in town.

            Suddenly the driver screamed: “Spirits!”

            Tenzin was walking across the street without looking. Through the open window Beifong shouted at him: “Out of the way, arrowhead, or you’ll end up as my radiator mascot!”

            Luckily, the driver managed to avoid a collision at the very last moment and only just missed a car parked on the side of the road. _Boy,_ _Tenzin really looked scared! The arrow on his head almost stood on end!_ , she smiled to herself.

            As the police car screeched around the corner, Beifong noticed Korra riding on Naga at full speed in the opposite direction. She made a mental note to tell Korra to cut that out, or otherwise she would instruct her officers to make sure that Naga is lead on a leash at all times.

            The police car came to a halt with screeching tyres. Another police car had already arrived and two officers were waiting in front of the door. Beifong knew that they must not mess things up. Otherwise G.B. Corgan would unleash a horde of lawyers who would sue the police department to smithereens.

            “Alright, men! You all know that this Corgan is an important and influential man. So no mistakes!” Beifong warned her men.

            They went through the lobby of the apartment building and took the elevator up to the sixth floor. They stepped out and could hear someone scream for help from Corgan’s apartment. Beifong ordered one of her men to break down the door. They cautiously but swiftly moved in, securing room by room. Nothing unusual was to be seen. The screams became louder as they approached the room at the end of the hall. There was a notice pinned to the door on which someone had written with a red lipstick: ‘Put that two-timing son of a rhinomonkey in the darkest prison cell you can find. And don’t let him change first!’

            Beifong had a feeling that this could be funny. But to make sure, she and her men communicated with sign language only in order not to warn any possible intruders behind the door. This would have to be done according to protocol. She signalled her men to stand back and move in right after her and secure the corners of the room. She would take this in her own hands.

            Beifong forced the door open with a strong kick, made two steps straight in the room, stopped abruptly and smiled broadly. Her men flanking her chuckled.

            Relieved as well as a little ashamed G.B. Corgan said: „Hello, officers! Finally you arrive, took you long enough. Would you mind metalbending these open?”

            In the room there was an enormous bed covered with purple satin sheets. On the sheets lay G.B. Corgan. His hands were tied to the bedframe in fluffy handcuffs. And he was wearing a tigerrabbit costume. With a large pink pompon as a tail.

_Well, well, what a nice little bunny we’ve got here._ Beifong still smiled and signalled her men to release Corgan and bend the cuffs open. She left the bunny and the paperwork to her men and took her first officer aside outside the bedroom: “Make sure that this is kept confidential! Don’t let the men talk to anyone about this and don’t let anyone from the press in here! Understood?”

            She looked him sternly in the eye and the officer nodded. Of course Beifong knew that in just a couple of hours this would be the talk of the town. She could already see the headlines of the evening paper: ‘Giant tigerrabbit turns out to be G.B. Corgan’ or ‘Corgan saved by police from fluffy prison’.

            Beifong walked downstairs and as she exited the building she saw that a third police car had arrived in the meantime. The officers were holding back two paparazzi who were trying to get in. News spread fast in Republic City.

            Beifong reached through the open window for the police car’s radio and called in that everything was okay. She still had a broad smile on her face and couldn’t wait for the evening news.

 

~ ~ * ~ ~

Naga

 

            For Naga, most days were pretty much the same. Even the weekends, with the exception that Asami was home most of the time. This day, however, had been a little different.

            Usually, Korra got up at least when Asami came out of the bathroom. But today Naga could not hear Korra making any sound at all when Asami was already down in the kitchen having coffee. So Naga had decided to go upstairs and check on Korra. But she turned out not too pleased with Naga snooping around.

            Then Asami, lost in thoughts, had run right into Naga in the hallway. She had licked Asami’s face reassuringly, but that seemed to make her even more stressed for some reason.

            Also, Naga noticed some commotion in front of the garage and Konraq seemed really mad and close to tears. Then all three, Korra and the kids hopped on her back and everyone was happy again. Usually, Korra allowed Konraq and Hirosha only to ride home, the way to the kindergarten they always had to ride on their bikes. Naga enjoyed the ride, too, because the kids always had so much fun.

Naga also always enjoyed Korra taking her out with her on her daily workout routine. She just loved running alongside the promenade, watching people and absorbing the different smells from the nearby harbour and the food stands. And she could use the exercise, too.

            As every day, Korra did a fair number of push-ups and sit-ups under a large tree in the park close to a big statue that looked just like her. This always took a while and Naga, sitting behind Korra, was looking for something to do. The food from the stand only a stone’s throw away right next to the fountain smelled delicious and made Naga’s mouth water. Korra was busy anyway and was not looking. So Naga went over to the stand to check out the menu.

            After a few meters she heard Korra slap her head and shout something, but she had already locked her nose on the target and went on. The owner was behind the stand, rummaging around in some boxes. So Naga took her change, leaned over the counter and quickly grabbed three roasted fish on a stick with her mouth. She ran off to a nearby tree a little away from Korra, sat down and munched on her prey.

            As Naga enjoyed her fish, she saw the stand owner first angrily waiving about with his hands in the stand, then looking at her and then at Korra, and finally walking over to Korra mumbling to himself. She watched without much interest as the owner walked up to Korra and interrupted her at sit-up number 176, who looked up at him surprised and then cast an angry look at Naga. She heard Korra mumble something like “Sorry, I, know that’s the third time already … I promise it’ll never happen again … I’ll put that polar bear dog on a diet … will, of course pay for it.” Korra again looked over to Naga and now seemed to be really mad at her. Only then it dawned on Naga that she maybe had gone too far this time. But the fish had just smelled too good.

            The owner was still wildly waiving about, holding his filleting knife in his right hand. Naga heard Korra say something like “If you don’t put that knife out of my face I’ll metalbend it into a candle holder!” The owner eventually went back to his stand, not waiving about any more but still mumbling angrily.

Korra was really upset and did not talk to Naga all the way home. At the gates to their mansion, Naga looked at Korra through her big dark eyes with her head down and whined encouragingly. Korra just could no longer be mad at Naga and petted her head. “Ooooh, come here you little fluffy cutie pie!” _Works every time_ , Naga grinned to herself.

            Naga was taking a nap in the garden under the shade of a massive turtlelion tree as Korra woke her up: “Get up, lazy bones! Let’s go!”

            Naga knew that it was time to go to the bending school. She hated being there, because some parents had threatened to take their children out of the school, unless Naga was securely locked away. They were afraid that their kids would end up as an afternoon snack for the large polar bear dog. Korra had tried to convince them that Naga was totally tame and that she often left her own children alone with Naga. As a consequence several parents in fact took out their kids, accusing Korra to be a lousy mother and even threatened to report her to the child welfare service. Korra had no choice and had to lock Naga in the storage room while she gave lessons and the children were around. So Naga had to spend about three hours each day in the middle of boring bending equipment and training devices, like protective gear and spare rocks for bending.

            But this day, Korra was headed for downtown and not the bending school. Naga was in a good mood and hoped that school was cancelled for today. As Korra was fooling around with her, they ran right into Bolin. Naga was happy, but not so much about meeting Bolin, rather about him dropping his hot hog to the ground. She did not hesitate one moment and quickly snatched it.

            There were exotic smells and interesting people everywhere around Naga. Korra had never taken her to such a place before. Naga’s nose was drawn from barbecue to barbecue but Korra kept her on a short leash. Korra talked her head off for quite a while and Bolin looked rather puzzled. Suddenly, Korra jumped on her back and shouted: “Get movin’, Naga! We mustn’t be late for school!”

            Dashing through the crowd Naga thought: “ _Oh no, not the storage room again!_ ”

 

~ ~ * ~ ~

Mako

 

            At quarter past 3 Mako walked with brisk steps to keep his appointment. He was supposed to meet his new client in fifteen minutes in Mooching Hogbeaver & Prancing Dragon, a dimly lit tea bar near downtown with a rather dubious reputation.

            When Prince Wu had started his musical career after stepping down from the throne and successfully leading the Earth Kingdom into democracy, Mako decided not to return to Republic City’s police force and become a private eye instead. He had plenty of contacts to both, the good guys and the bad guys, and just wanted to have some space after having taken care about Wu practically 24/7.

            Mako was almost there as he suddenly slipped with his heel. He could only just prevent a nasty fall by supporting himself with his hand on the ground. He quickly recovered and noticed that his hand was full of slime. He smelled at it and wondered how a puddle of paste got on the ground in the middle of the street. While wiping of his hand on the advertising pillar just next to him he noticed a poster with a familiar face on it: ‘Wu, the artist formerly known as Prince – Live at the Pro Bending Arena! Only this July!’ Mako shook his head and knew that this project was doomed from the beginning, just as Wu’s first band, Wu and the Tang Clan.

             Mako finally entered the tea bar and looked for a woman with a red shawl. He was surprised to find a very attractive lady about his age sitting alone at a table in the back of the bar. Not believing his luck, Mako scanned the whole tea bar again and was delighted that she in fact was the only woman wearing a red shawl. He checked his hair, adjusted his jacket, took a deep breath and approached her.

            “You must be the Red Lady. I’m private detective Mako.”

            The woman took a deep drag on the water pipe standing on a side table and gestured him to sit down. She tilted her head back only a little and blew the smoke into the shade of the hanging lamp above the table.

            “You said on the phone that this was a rather delicate matter. I assure you to keep everything strictly confidential. And I work alone, so there is no risk of leakage.”

            She scrutinized him carefully and Mako got the feeling that this woman was not to be trifled with. Just as Mako was about to break the uncomfortable silence the woman said: “I need you to get evidence on my husband. _Explicit_ evidence. Do you understand?”

            “I get the picture, I think.”

            “No, you don’t. My husband isn’t just anybody. He’s a rather influential man. And, more importantly, he’s also immensely wealthy.”

            She took another drag on the water pipe, blew a ring of smoke across the table right into Mako’s face and smiled. Her smile died abruptly and she said: “And he’s also a two-timing son of a rhinomonkey. _Now_ , you have the full picture.”

            “I see. Sorry to hear.“

            For a moment, Mako considered declining the case. He didn‘t want to tread on some rich guy’s toes who could get him into big trouble. But this was the first case in weeks, at least if one did not count the numerous assignments to look for missing pets, and he needed to pay his rent. So he finally asked: “So, who’s your husband then?”

            The Red Lady pulled an envelope out of her hand bag and slid it across the table. Mako opened it and looked at the photo inside. He raised his eyebrows and let out a quiet whistle through his teeth.

            “If he finds out you’re after him, he’ll make mincemeat out of you. So be careful! It would be a shame to see your pretty face beaten up, wouldn’t it?”

            Mako thought so, too, and took a deep breath. They waiter finally came by and before Mako could say anything the lady ordered a redbush tea for him without taking her eyes off Mako.

            “Goes well with your fiery eyes.” she said and Mako was wondering if she was flirting with him or just wrapping him around her finger. He wanted to make a smart reply but couldn’t think of anything clever to say.

            “We’ll meet again here in exactly one week, same time. If you satisfy me, I’ll be _very_ grateful.”

            Mako gulped and, struck speechless, watched as the Red Lady stood up and left the tea shop. He was fascinated and frightened of her at the same time. He knew he must not mess this up. That woman sure knew what she wanted. If he did not _satisfy_ her, then he would be in trouble.

            The waiter served the tea and Mako thought about how to best tackle this job, looking at the photo. It occurred to him that he didn’t even know her name. And he didn’t request an advance on his fees as usual. _Oh boy, what have I gotten into?_

            Fifteen minutes and a pot of redbush tea later, Mako left the tea shop and headed for the shopping mall. This time avoiding the patch of paste on the pavement. He wanted to buy one of these new instant cameras from Future Industries. And maybe a false beard and a hat. _Oh boy, oh boy!_

 

~ ~ * ~ ~

Dr. Sabuko

 

            Dr. Sabuko was a very correct and punctual man. He liked his pencils ordered by size on the right side of his desk. He did not like people being late. It was already three minutes past eleven and the Avatar had not yet shown up.

            He arranged the documents on his left. Then he checked the inkpot and the fountain pen at the front end of his desk. He looked at the clock on the wall, it was already five past eleven. _Avatar or not, appointments are to be kept. Always!_

            He called his secretary over the intercom and asked her to phone the Avatar to tell her that she could make a new appointment, but unfortunately he would be rather busy at the moment. Which was not true, but this was a matter of principle for him. Then the secretary should phone Mrs. Sato to deliver the same message.

            If it had not been for Asami Sato, Dr. Sabuko would never have agreed on an appointment with the Avatar in this matter anyway. But he had been a close friend of her father Mr. Hiroshi Sato and simply could not refuse her this favour.

            For him, all were equal before the law. And the law was clear in the case at hand. Without a proper certificate of professional competence issued by an approved bending association, no one could run a bending school in Republic City. And if the Avatar was not a certified bender, she was deemed as incompetent according to the letter of the law and her school had to be closed. So much for that.

            Overwhelmed by his own righteousness he decided to reject some applications for opening food stands. He liked rejecting applications. And he hated food stands, they stank and were a breeding ground for all sorts of bacteria, fungi and whatnot.

            As he put his ‘rejected’-stamp down hard on one of the applications, his secretary called over the intercom. His wife was on the phone, sounding very outraged. He told his secretary to put his wife through to him and picked up the receiver.

            His wife was screaming so loudly Dr. Sabuko had to hold the receiver away from his ear. He listened for a while and then shouted: “What! That’s outrageous! I’ve filed the building permit already months ago! They have no legal ground to evict us from the house!“

            His wife said something and then he screamed even louder: “WHAT! Filed under the wrong reference number! …. Invalid? …. Already packing our things in boxes?“    

_He dropped the receiver and dashed out of the office. Having heard everything through the door, his secretary could not resist a big malicious grin from ear to ear._

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed reading it. Feel free to send me your comments or get in touch with me. You might also want to check out my tumbr http://anakint-101.tumblr.com/
> 
> xoxo  
> anakinT


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